


it's only forever (not long at all)

by detailsofyourincompetence



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Little Bit Of Crack, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Labyrinth Fusion, F/F, Forced Marriage, Light Angst, mention of Cora not being a good mother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-10-06 19:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/detailsofyourincompetence/pseuds/detailsofyourincompetence
Summary: Young Regina, about to be married to a king almost three times her age, desperately wishes for the Goblin King to whisk her away to a place where she can be free. Little does she know that the Goblin King actually is a Queen, and that the Goblin Queen actually is Emma Swan who might be a little in love with Regina - if you believe the prophecies. But Regina doesn't believe the prophecies, so she has to find her way out of a labyrinth if she wants to return to her old life. (or... maybe she doesn't want to?)(Protostar fic inspired by the awe-inspiring art by Sarconistia and, therefore, the movie Labyrinth.)





	it's only forever (not long at all)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sarconistia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarconistia/gifts).
  * Inspired by [[Art] it's only forever (not long at all)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20469293) by [Sarconistia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarconistia/pseuds/Sarconistia). 

> Uhm, okay, this turned out a little more crack-ish than I planned, but anyway. It's fun? Also, I've been told that it makes a lot more sense if you've seen labyrinth (the movie), so go on and watch it first, it's a classic, and it has David Bowie, so yay!!! But first, take a look at Sarconistia's art that made me watch the movie again, just look at her EMMA!!! It's amazing!
> 
> Lots of thanks to Ari for letting me bounce some ideas around! And to J., your a jem (haha). And, as always, to our awesome mods, you work so hard for us all to have some fun!

_ \- it's only forever _

_ not long at all _

_ lost and lonely _

_ that's underground, underground - _

** _(david bowie, underground)_ **

  
  


\---

  
  


She hadn’t planned for her night to end like this. 

But then again,she also hadn't planned to be forced into marriage to a king she barely knows, let alone loves, and yet here she is, a week before the big celebration she doesn't really want. ('Love is weakness, Regina,' her mother had told her, 'you must choose power instead,' and then she had accepted the king's proposal on Regina's behalf.)

A week before her life is going to change for the worse, Regina thinks, and she is too agitated, too angry to go home to a castle that will never feel like home.

So she rides, spurring on Rocinante along the darkening forest paths, until both she and the horse are soaked with sweat and breathing heavily, until her thighs, and arms, and hands, and butt hurt so much that she doesn’t think she can make it back to the castle any time that night.

Not that that thought is bothering her in any way..

So when she nears a stream, water rushing over large stones, gurgling, surface glittering in the setting sun, she lets Rocinante slow to a rhythmic trot, carefully tightening the reins to make him stop at the water‘s edge.

With a groan, she gets off the horses back, tying him loosely to a young tree to let him graze next to her. "We'll only rest for a while," she says, more to herself than to him, but his ears twitch attentively. "We'll rest for a while, and we'll be back at the castle before Mother notices we're gone." 

Mother probably already knew that she had left, left against her strict orders, but she also knew that Regina would be back before the morning, for she knew better than to try to stand up against Mother.

_ One day _ , Regina thinks, _ one day when my magic is more powerful than to light a little flame I'll run away and nobody can force me to come back _ .

Regina burrows her face in Rocinante's warm neck, finding comfort in his heady scent. "Do you want me to tell you a story, Rocinante?" she asks when she eventually pulls back, and when the horse snorts softly, she continues, "Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was very much in love with a young stable boy. They both were very happy, but the girl's mother wanted the girl to be queen one day. So one night, she tricked both boy and girl to trust her, and when the girl was too powerless to save him, she killed her daughter's first love in front of her eyes. That way, the girl was free to be married to an old and lonely king who promised the mother power and wealth she had always been craving. The girl was carried off to a far away castle where she practically was a prisoner to the king and her mother.

"But what neither king nor the Queen Mother knew was that a goblin king had fallen in love with the girl, now a young woman, and given her certain powers, magical powers, that allowed her to ask the goblins for help whenever she needed it. So one night a week before the wedding, when she was feeling especially lonely and desperate, she did exactly that. 'Say the right words,' the goblins said, 'and you shall be free.' So the woman, who felt so lonely and sad and helpless, whispered into the dark night, 'I wish for the goblin king to take me away to his kingdom so that I can live free from my mother's reigns.'"

What Regina doesn't know is that hidden in the darkness behind trees and bushes, there are a dozen goblins listening intently, waiting for her to just say the right words, and when she finally did, they celebrated giddily.

Regina, now feeling even lonelier and more helpless than before, steps away from her horse, and slowly sinks down to the forest floor with her back against an old tree stump. The bark is rough and hard against her back, but the slight pain barely registers in her exhausted mind.

Before she finally falls asleep, the last thing she hears is Rocinante whinnying nervously in the distance.

\---

When she awakes hours later, the moon casts its silvery light over the forest floor, and she shivers against the cool air. She is a little disoriented from waking up in a place that isn't her own bed, but she could swear the forest looks slightly different from before, with dark shadows that are moving constantly, and even the air feels different now, almost crackling around her.

She is sure she hears footsteps from somewhere nearby, tiny scurrying feet, and she asks, a little breathless, "Who's there?" into the cold air. The scurrying stops at once, but there are other, slower steps now, and this time she is sure she is not making them up. "Who's there?" she asks again, louder now, more confident, "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, the crackling behind her intensifies, accompanied by a sharp blast of cold air, and when Regina whisps herself around, there's a… woman standing in front of her, clad in tight grey pants and and even tighter black leather vest. The most extraordinary thing about her, though, is her hair, a wild mane of blonde hair that looks like it needed a lot of magic or sugared water to stay that way, and her dramatic make-up, sharp black lines drawn around her bright eyes. Regina stares at her, bewildered, stares for so long that both she and the other woman notice her staring. Regina swallows around the lump in her throat, straightens her back. "Who are you?" she asks, hiding her embarrassment behind the haughtiness her mother has been teaching her for years now.

With a flourish of her hand, and a smirk on her lips, the woman bows deeply, and when she straightens again, she answers, "I am Emma, the Goblin Queen."

Regina looks at her, her doubts plain to see on her face. "But you're… a woman?"

The blonde,  _ Emma _ , lifts an eyebrow, barely visible underneath the dark make-up. "Yeah, well, that's why I am the Goblin Queen, and not the, you know, King?"

Regina huffs. "You don't really look like a queen either."

Narrowing her eyes, Emma tries to stare her down. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, for one, your  _ attire  _ doesn't look worthy of a queen," Regina explains. "And second- what did you do to your face? Are you wearing some kind of war paint?"

Her expression hardening, Emma slowly walks over to her, struts really, and stops when she and Regina are only a few inches apart. "Oh, aren't you a feisty one. I like that in you," she drawls. "But you better believe me when I say I'm your queen and start following my orders."

"Your- your  _ orders _ ?"

Emma smirks at her. "Yes, because unless I'm wrong, and believe me, being the Goblin Queen comes with never being wrong, unless I'm wrong you just asked me to  _ take you to my kingdom so that you can live free from your mother's reigns. _ Or queendom, whatever."

"I- I didn't mean it like that!" Regina protests.

"Oh, silly girl, what's said is said, and there's no taking back your wishes when you're talking to the Goblin Queen." Taking another step forward, she clutches Regina's chin with her right hand, forcing her to hold still while staring into her eyes. Regina shivers both at the warmth of Emma's fingers, such a stark contrast to the night air, and the steel in Emma's expression. When Emma suddenly lets go of her chin, Regina has to force herself from stumbling forward, just to close the distance between them once more.

Emma grins like she can read Regina's mind, and her expression turns almost feral. "Hmmm. How about we strike a deal? Since we already are in my kingdom, and you're still so keen on returning to your old life-"

Regina interrupts her again. "How are we already in your kingdom when we were standing in the middle of the forest mere seconds ago?"

With a wave of her hand, Emma motions for her to take a look around. Regina draws in a sharp breath when she isn't met with the familiar trees, but with high stone walls that seem to run forever into the distance, under a now brightening sky tinged in orange and pink hues. "This is not the Enchanted Forest," she whispers, more to herself than to Emma.

The Goblin Queen laughs nonetheless. "Of course it isn't, silly girl. I told you so. Now back to the deal we were talking about. I'm willing to wait another twelve hours- if you make it through the labyrinth that's behind these walls, you will reach a portal that leads back to your world. If you don't- well, then you accept that you're staying here with me forever and heed my every wish."

"Twelve hours to get through the labyrinth doesn’t sound that hard,“ Regina replies slowly, choosing her words with care, but her eyes sparkle with determination when she finally replies, "I'm willing to accept, as long as you promise to hold up your side of the deal and don’t force me into following you to your kingdom once I make it through this labyrinth.“ She has never been one to back down from a challenge, and the way Emma’s eyes sparkle when she agrees make her feel so alive, more alive than she has felt since she was promised to the king.

Emma smirks, self-satisfied. "Oh, this isn’t a simple labyrinth, silly. Twelve hours will be over before you know it- never underestimate the power of goblin magic!“ She cackles darkly, a sound that goes through Regina’s every bone, and after winking gleefully at Regina, she disappears in a bright pink cloud.

\---

It's really not just a simple labyrinth, Regina realizes after a while, and it certainly more complicated than finding her way through the maze she mistook it for.

Five minutes after Regina starts her trek along the high walls, and just when she is getting frustrated enough to try and start kicking the walls in, a doorway of some kind magically appears next to her. She hesitates for the fraction of a second, then steps through it, only to find it disappear right behind her.

On first sight, the inside looks deceivingly like a simple maze, so Regina pats the pockets of her breeches for something to mark her way with. She finds a piece of bread, but she is sure that, as soon as she turns a corner, a bird or mouse or squirrel will appear and eat up her markers.

Instead, she takes the lipstick Mother makes her carry around at all times ( _ 'A lady has to look presentable at all times, Regina, and who is going to pay you respect as a queen if you don’t take care of your appearance first?‘ _ ) and draws deep red arrows at every intersection she passes.

(What she doesn’t know is that still, as soon as she rounds a corner, a giggling goblin appears, lifts the stone and turns the arrow around.)

\---

She only realizes that someone or something is messing with her markers when she turns around a corner, around another corner, takes a left at an intersection- and ends up at one of the arrows pointing in the direction she just came from. "Impossible," Regina huffs, kicking the stone in frustration- until it crumbles under her feet.

"Hey! What have you done? Why do you think you can destroy literally the roof over my head?"

Disbelieving, Regina looks down into the darkness below and finds a weird (well, even weirder looking than usual) dwarf staring back at her.

"I… I am sorry! I didn't know this was a… house of some sort."

With a long suffering sigh, the dwarf climbs out of the hole, struggling until Regina holds out a helping hand. The dwarf continues to huff and puff when he is standing before her, squinting against to make out her face against the glaring sun. Then, "Oh."

"What, ' _ Oh _ '?"

The dwarf fidgets around and avoids her eyes. "Nothing, just… oh."

Regina places her hands on her hips, straightens herself to her full height- which is quite impressive compared to the dwarf, even if she is only 5'6'' without heels. "What, ' _ Oh _ '?" she repeats, pursing her lips.

The dwarf starts again, "Nothing," but when she won't stop glaring at her, he finally relents. "You're her, right? You're the woman the queen fell in love with?"

"What are you even talking about? The Goblin Queen doesn't seem to me like a woman capable of love, let alone someone who is in love with me."

The dwarf rolls his tiny eyes. "Oh, believe me, the prophecies tell a different story." He holds out his small hand. "I'm Robin, by the way."

Regina stares at it like it's something filthy she found on the forest floor, but shakes it hesitantly. "You do realize that I met her exactly once, right, and that was when she was threatening to abduct me?"

"Oh, I know that, but again, believe me, the prophecies don't care about that."

"And I don't believe in prophecies. It's never too late to change the future. So- will you help me defy the prophecies and find a way through this labyrinth?"

At that, the dwarf's mood visibly brightens. "I can't do the former, but I can certainly try the latter!"

\---

An hour later, Regina realizes that Robin might not be of any help, because they pass countless of her markers and places that look strangely familiar but different at the same time. Still, Robin insists that, no, they haven't been here before, and motions for her to keep following him.

\---

Another half hour later, they pass a rose bush, the blossoms all shriveled up, that Regina has seen at least twice before, but next to a solid oak door that wasn't there the last time. Regina stops dead in her tracks and resolutely stomps her foot. "Enough!" she bellows, and when Robin slowly comes to a stop as well and turns around even more slowly, she asks, "You're not really here to help me find a way out of the labyrinth, are you?"

He shakes his head, eyes downcast. "To my defense- I only said I was going to help you find a way  _ through  _ this labyrinth, not that the way would necessarily lead you out of it. Like I said, you can't defy the prophecies."

"Argh!" Regina screams into the long corridors, her voice echoing off the stone walls. She turns around and runs away as fast as possible, faster than his short legs could follow her.

\---

She stops only when she is so out of breath that her lungs and stomach are hurting and she has completely lost her orientation. Taking in short sharp breaths, Regina leans against the wall, closing her eyes to keep desperate tears from falling.

After a few minutes, she notices a shadow looming over her, and when she opens her eyes again, she sees Emma looking at her with a self-satisfied smirk. "You're not even at the halfway mark, and already you're giving up?"

Regina bristles. "I'm not giving up, I'm just catching my breath and thinking about all the ways I'm going to defeat you."

Emma's smile widens. "Ah,  _ there  _ you are, feisty one. Do you maybe need better help than the useless stinking dwarf?"

"He was useless, but he actually didn't stink," Regina replies, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh, he wasn't  _ yet _ , but he certainly will be once I drop him in the Bog of Eternal Stench. I didn't like him playing you, because that is my thing to do. Maybe I'll even send you someone useful the next time," Emma cackles. And with a flourish of her hand, Emma once again disappears in a pink cloud.

Regina thinks she can hear Robin screeching in the distance.

\---

When she enters a corridor that she thinks might have been a dead end the last time, Regina is greeted by two guards standing in front of a set of doors. "I  _ know  _ this was a dead end before," she says, more to herself than the guards, but they laugh nonetheless.

"No, this is a dead end," one of them giggles, pointing behind her, and of course,when Regina turns around, she finds a solid wall of bricks blocking the way she just came from.

"Someone keeps changing this maze, it's not fair!"

"Ooooh," one of the guards cooes, "nobody said anything about this being a fair game." The other one says, "But at least the Goblin Queen sent you our way, because we might help you!"

"Okay, so what should I do?" Regina asks, guarded after the last help she got.

"Oh, that's easy- just walk through one of these doors!" the guards say as one, but when she reaches for one of the door handles, they both point their arrows at her.

"It's not that easy, silly, because one of these doors leads out of the maze-"

"-and the other one leads to certain death. So choose wisely." They both cackle gleefully.

"So which one leads out of here?" Regina asks, looking from one to the other.

"Oh, you can only ask one of us-"

"I'm asking you," Regina says to the guard on the left, "which door leads out of here?"

They both laugh again, even louder this time. "It's not that easy, silly, because one of us is telling the truth-"

"And the other one is only telling lies. So choose carefully."

Squinting her eyes, Regina takes a long moment to think about the riddle. Her face brightens. "So just answer yes or no," she says again to the guard on the left, "would he;" she points at the other guard, "tell me his door leads out of here?"

The guards fall silent, and Regina thinks she has just solved the riddle to get out of the labyrinth.

\---

When she steps through the door, though, there suddenly is no floor beneath her feet, and she falls for a long frightful moment before vines twisting around her arms and legs break her fall. Suspended between the two doors high above her and the floor far below her, Regina squints down to see Emma standing on the ground with her arms on her hips.

"I thought when I got out of this maze I would be free!" Regina yells towards Emma's small form.

"No need to yell at me like that," Emma says, her voice carrying up to Regina. She cocks her head at the vines to slowly lower Regina to the ground next to her.

"I thought we head a deal," Regina tries again once she's standing upright, her heart still beating wildly in her chest.

Emma continues to smile at her, patiently. "Oh, yes, the deal was you would be free if you get out of this labyrinth within twelve hours. But did you really think it would be this easy? The maze was only part of the labyrinth, now you're getting to the difficult parts." Emma walks around Regina in a circle, looking her up from toes to her head and back again. "You know that it's not too late to give up, right? It's not too late for you to choose to come live with me in my kingdom."

Regina scoffs. "And why would I be more free than I would be if I went back to the castle?"

Emma shrugs. "It would be your free choice."

"It wouldn't be much of a choice if you still threaten to abduct me if I don't make it out of your labyrinth, would it?" With that, Regina turns her back on Emma and starts to walk away into the dark corridor.

"I could send her to the underworld for you, you know?" Emma says loudly behind her.

Regina stops, her back still to Emma. "Who?"

"Your mother. Cora. I could send her to the underworld so you would truly be free from her."

"You would do that?" Regina asks incredulously, and this time she does turn around. She tries not to put too much hope in Emma's offer, because it is far from being selfless. But still, when Emma nods her head decisively, there's a feeling that she can't name starting to form in her chest. A feeling close to gratefulness to a stranger who is the first person who takes her side against her mother. But she reminds herself, against the warmth in her chest and the shiver running down her back, she can’t let herself be tricked into trusting a strange goblin queen with morals that are on the other side of shady, and hair so wild she looks like she got straight out of an electric storm.

"No, I don’t want that," Regina says, and she doesn't sound as reluctant as she feels. "And just to be clear, I don’t want you to kill, or deport, or otherwise hurt my mother."

"Well, as you wish," the Goblin Queen replies, cocking her head. "Just remember that you need to find your way through this labyrinth if you want to leave my kingdom. Within the next five hours and 34 minutes, preferably." With a wave of her hand, she disappears in her trademark cloud, her cackling laughter echoing off the walls.

Regina is once again alone in a labyrinth she has no idea how to get out of, and feelings she doesn't know what to make of, and she tries not to feel disappointed that Emma was so quick to follow her wishes.

"Don't think I didn't notice you just took almost two hours off the time I still had left," she suddenly screams into the empty darkness around her. "It's not fair!"

Nobody is there to answer her, though.

\---

But still, the important part is that she keeps fighting. She works her way through a corridor of Helping Hands that aren't helpful at all; she fights against an army of drunk and unarmed goblins; she finds a way out of something called the Oubliette; and when she is almost overwhelmed by hunger after hours in the labyrinth, she resist the temptation of tasting the apple that Emma gives to her.

She hides it inside her blouse instead, and tries not to notice the interest Emma is following her every movement with.

"You don't think it's poisoned, do you?" Emma asks from the other side of the clearing next to the stream, where Regina fell asleep the night before. The clearing Regina found herself in after climbing up a flight of stairs that kept changing form and seemed to lead nowhere. Regina shakes her head at herself. The labyrinth keeps changing form so fast it's giving her whiplash.

She quirks an eyebrow. "You don't think I  _ don't _ think it's poisoned, do you?"

"Fair enough," Emma says and takes a step toward the center of the clearing. She stuffs her hands into the pockets of her pants, and Regina tries not to notice the small thrust of her slim hips. Abruptly, Emma starts to cackle again, even though she does seem somehow defeated.

Regina cringes at the sound. "What is it with you and this… kind of laughter?" she asks when Emma has fallen silent again. 

The blonde's eyes widen. "Do you mean this?" she asks, cackling once more, even if it sounds forced and hollow, and she stops as soon as she sees Regina's face. "Well, my spin doctor suggested I work on my laughter to sound more mysterious, more threatening," she explains, her shoulders and back straightening with pride.

"You have a spin doctor?" Regina asks unbelievingly. "Never mind, you should fire him anyway, because it only makes you sound creepy. Probably not exactly what you were aiming for."

Emma shakes her head. "Not exactly, no. I'll tell Zelena that you asked me to fire her once I'm back at my castle." For some reason, Emma doesn't sound mortally offended, but more like she is relieved to be allowed to drop an act.

Even if she, technically, still is her prisoner, Emma's reaction, or lack thereof, spurs Regina on. "Is she also responsible for your wardrobe? And your hair and makeup?"

Emma bristles at once, but maybe she is also fighting down a smile. "Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Well," Regina thinks about how to put it diplomatically, but then just shrugs. "Let me say it like that- keep your pants but maybe drop the rest. You should definitely keep the pants, though."

Emma smirks and subtly, once more, thrusts her hips forward. "Why, why, do you by any chance like my pants?"

"Oh, I most certainly do," Regina purrs, staring at Emma's strong, lean legs that are only accentuated by her pants. Furrowing her brows, she adds, "Are you … stuffing your pants, Emma?", pointing in the general direction of Emma's crotch.

"She said a 'noticeable bulge' would add a certain air of power to my appearance!" Emma explains, sounding scandalized.

"Well, if you were a king, maybe it would add to your… air of masculinity, but as things are- it's a little ridiculous."

Emma blushes furiously. "I'll fire her, as my own decision, and then I'm going to make sure she never sets foot in my kingdom again!"

After that, they both fall silent again, and Regina runs her eyes over Emma's face surreptitiously, and thinks that maybe, just maybe, there might be someone truly beautiful hidden under all the makeup.

"So," Emma's voice startles her out of her reverie, "what do you plan to do now that you defeated the powerful Goblin Queen with…" at that, Emma looks at the sun, "... just a few minutes to spare?"

Regina frowns at her, trying to understand.. And then she gapes at Emma. "What do you mean, defeated you? Are you telling me this really is the end of the labyrinth?"

Emma snickers. "Of course, silly, it really is. Do you think I would have let you ridicule me if that wasn't the case?"

"I wasn't ridiculing you," Regina protests, "I was just… trying to help, in case you want to abduct even more innocent women in the near future."

To her surprise, Emma laughs softly. "I don't think I'll abduct another woman anytime soon. You were a feisty and worthy opponent, I have to give you that. So, what are you planning to do? Go back to what the kingdom calls your castle, but in reality is only the king's and his daughter's, a fact he lets you know as often as possible? Back to a mother who cares more about her own power than your well-being?"

Regina stares at her, unable to believe that Emma knew things about her that were so plain to see, but nobody took the effort to really notice before her. In the end, she only sighs, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't think I have much of a choice, so yes, I have to go back."

"You always have a choice, I think you defeating me just showed you that. But, if that's what you truly want, you're free to leave." With a sad smile, Emma waves her hand, one last time, and suddenly the other half of the clearing is basked once again in the light of a setting sun, with Rocinante waiting for her exactly where Regina left him what feels like ages ago.

Slowly, hesitantly, Regina crosses the clearing, turning around when Emma calls out her name. "Did you know that you would have been able to leave the labyrinth at once, if you had just said you wished to? It's as easy as that, actually, and that's also the reason why I won't lay a finger on Cora, because I can't help but heed your wishes. Can't blame a Goblin Queen for trying though," she smirks before finally disappearing.

Regina is left staring after her, a wild mess of thoughts spinning through her head.

\---

When Regina returns to the castle, both her and Rocinante sweating heavily, nobody has noticed her absence, to her surprise. The king barely deigns to look at her, like usually more interested in the idea of her representing his kingdom than in her physical presence.

Her mother, on the other hand, looks at her in disgust. "What did I tell you about riding like this, Regina? As a queen it is always your responsibility to represent the kingdom with dignity. Quick, hurry up to your quarters, I'll tell your servants to prepare you a bath." She shakes her to herself. "The king has guests over for dinner, please don't embarrass us!"

\---

Almost in a daze, Regina walks up to her quarters, where she slowly, methodically undresses in front of the mirror, until she is only in her underpants and undershirt. When she looks up she startles at the subdued woman who greets her from the mirror. Sure, she still looks like herself, like the woman who left the castle a few hours ago, but the fire that she's sure was visible during the entire time in the labyrinth, is gone already. Left behind are dim brown eyes with shadows becoming visible beneath them.

"I wish…" she starts, whispering, but for a moment, her own courage scares her. She takes a deep breath and tries again, surer this time. "I wish for the Goblin Queen to take me to her kingdom so that I can live a life of my own choices." She lets out the rest of the air in her lungs.

At first, she doesn't think anything has changed at all, the room empty and still aside from her own agitated breathing, and her shoulders fall in defeat.

"Don't tell me all it took for you to change your mind was seeing your mother and the king again. Could have spared us both effort and time if I had known that before."

Smiling widely, Regina spins around. "Emma!"

Reciprocating the smile, Emma gets up from where she was lounging on Regina's huge bed. "I want to say it's Your Queen for you, but I think you've earned the right to call me by my first name, wouldn't you agree?" Still smiling, and never breaking eye contact with Regina, Emma slowly crosses the room between them. She waits for Regina to take a few steps forward as well before placing a warm hand against Regina's cheek. "Did you really change your mind?" she whispers.

Wordlessly, staring at Emma with wide eyes, Regina can only nod.

"Would it be okay if I kissed you right now before I whisk you away to my underground kingdom, my queen?" Emma whispers, her breath ghosting over Regina's lips.

Still, Regina only nods.

Slowly, the fraction of an inch at a time, Emma leans forward, her eyes darting between Regina's, until Regina loses her patience. She closes the minimal space between them to press her lips against Emma's. They stay still, unmoving for a long moment, but Regina can already feel her lips tingling. Then she opens her lips a little, meaning to lean back and draw in a hurried breath, but Emma uses the opportunity to slip her warm soft tongue into her mouth, and Regina feels warmth exploding in the tip of her stomach, and spreading to her fingertips, the top of her head, the tips of her toes. Regina returns the kiss enthusiastically, grabbing Emma's tight pants to pull her closer.

"I still don't believe in prophecies," she states when they finally pull apart minutes later.

Emma laughs, a free, beautiful laugh, so much better than her fake cackle. "That's alright. We can try and defeat every single one of them."

_the end._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Now go and enjoy the f*ck out of SQSupernova!


End file.
